One year ago on this day, we officially unveiled our Distribution System Operator project. We proudly announced that Essex Powerlines would be working in collaboration with Essex Energy, NODES and Utilismart to implement a near real-time local electricity market in Leamington, Ontario to help meet local energy demand. This project has been made possible thanks to the financial support of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and customized guidance from the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).
Here are our accomplishments from the past year:
Telling the PowerShare Story
- Traveled to sunny San Diego in May 2022, where we attended DISTRIBUTECH International, one of the premier annual conferences for utilities globally. We discussed the early stages of our project with industry professionals and cemented our partnership with NODES.
- In June 2022, our team was at the Electricity Distributors Association (EDA) EDIST conference in Markham, ON, sharing our story.
- October 2022
- The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) hosted the Electricity Transformation Canada conference in Toronto, ON. There, John Avdoulos, President & CEO of Essex Power presented in the Education Session entitled Decarbonizing the Grid: Strengthening Ontario’s Clean Energy Advantage alongside Brandy Giannetta (Canadian Renewable Energy Association), Katherine Sparkes (IESO) and Allison Miller (Enel North America).
- Essex Power was announced as one of the founding members of CanREA’s Electricity Transition Hub. This knowledge transfer project is aimed at helping Canadian utilities and system operators transition to decarbonization and electrification. It received $1.6 million in Government of Canada funding. Projects like PowerShare will contribute to this growing body of knowledge.
- Again in October 2022, Essex Power CEO & President John Avdoulos spoke on Municipal World’s MW Shares podcast, bringing light to how PowerShare can support local economic development in the Leamington area.
- PowerShare was featured in the Winter 22/23 edition of the EDA’s magazine—The Distributor.
- In December 2022, our team attended and exhibited at the Leamington Chamber of Commerce Jingle & Mingle Business Expo, where they had the opportunity to chat with local business owners looking to fully utilize their energy assets.
- At CanREA’s inaugural Hub Summit conference in January 2023, our team presented in a breakout session on Distribution System Networks & Standardization in Canada. PowerShare team member Steve Ray spoke alongside members of the OEB and IESO.
- February 2023
- Team members from Essex Powerlines and Essex Energy attended DISTRIBUTECH International to continue sharing our story and networking with industry professionals. Team members from NODES and Utilismart exhibited at the conference, with NODES giving a presentation on PowerShare’s market design. The PowerShare team continued to cement our business relationships with groups like powerconsumer.
- PowerShare was featured on episodes 70 and 71 ‘The 360 on Energy & Carbon’, a podcast hosted by 360 Energy Inc. Essex Power CEO & President John Avdoulos spoke about how PowerShare will enable utilities’ transition from poles-and-wires to energy management services companies.
Project Updates
- Our website, powershare.energy, was launched in early 2023.
- Throughout the year, a variety of upgrades and enhancements were made to our partner Utilismart’s SmartMAP software, which will be used to support the dispatch of DERs in the PowerShare electricity market. For example, we have added local forecasting capabilities to the platform.
- Worked on developing and coordinating with the IESO on the market rules for the NODESmarket platform, where participants will be trading energy flexibility.
- Identified scenarios for activation of flexibility to demonstrate value to ratepayers in terms of reliability and monetary savings, defining situations where it would be advantageous to purchase flexibility within the market rather than buying it wholesale.
- Engaged with community organizations and industry partners, including greenhouse owners, hardware & software providers, aggregators, asset owners, energy industry associations, governmental organizations and municipalities.
- Developed business opportunities for new renewable energy assets in the project service area.
We’ve come a long way since announcing our project, but much work lies ahead. Here are some of our Roadmap Highlights for 2023:
- Completing our market rulebook, which will allow interested parties to determine whether their assets are eligible to participate.
- Continue reaching out to asset owners to share our story and increase interest/uptake in PowerShare. Our goal in the initial phases of the project is to have a minimum of 5 MW of participating assets, with 50% being non-GHG emitting.
- Engaging more of our energy sector peers in our transformative project.
- Presenting at EDIST in May this year.
Here’s to another productive and instructive year for the PowerShare team!
